I Trust You (don't make me regret it)
by Merchant0fDeath
Summary: SHIELD knows that Tony Stark is the best weapons manufacturer that they'll ever get their hands on. The problem is, he doesn't make weapons anymore. With the full knowledge of the Avengers; they go behind his back and use weapons that Tony thought long gone. And then he finds out. Tony!Centric
1. Join The Cycle

**I own nothing but the plunny.**

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><p><strong>I Trust You (don't make me regret it)<strong>

Tony Stark spent so long, _so _long, trying to establish a good sense of trust with the Avengers – and even longer trying to do the same with S.H.I.E.L.D. He would be the first to say it was near impossible, especially considering his past with _Stane _and… well, it had been hard to regain trust with S.H.I.E.L.D since the whole 'Coulson' fiasco, but they'd gotten there in the end.

Truthfully, Tony thinks that Coulson was angrier with S.H.I.E.L.D than anyone else was because, _hello, _he'd spent _forever _trying to collect those Captain America cards.

So, eventually Tony had gotten even with S.H.I.E.L.D (long story) and he had thought there'd been a well-established trust between them. You know, despite the secrets within secrets thing. Tony reckons he'd had a mutual understanding with Director Pirate-Pants, at least.

But then, Fury had to go ahead and be more of a jackass than any other jackass on the planet and that, truly, was saying something (because, you know, Tony had met _Howard Stark _and his 'oh-so-perfect-super-soldier friend-who-possibly-wasn't-as-annoying-as-Tony-thought-initially').

But _how_ had he managed to be such a jackass? By using Stark Tech, that Tony had thought long gone, for S.H.I.E.L.D and branding it with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo. Really, did he think Tony was _that _stupid?

Heads turned in the billionaire's direction as he stormed down the S.H.I.E.L.D corridors and towards the briefing room where the other Avengers, Fury, Coulson and Hill had been waiting for him for about ten minutes already. Nobody missed his clenched fists, knuckles almost white from the pressure, and furious expression as well as (and, yeah, he'd decided to go to drastic measures like these) the small handgun he had clenched in his right fist.

He'd taken the liberty of screaming himself hoarse for ten minutes straight at the guys who were about to deny him entrance into Headquarters, due to the gleaming silver weapon in his hand (until he finally cleared his mind enough to be able to tell them in relatively dulcet tones that; '_Director Fury requested seeing the new gun I fashioned the other week. I'm thinking of testing it – how'd you like to be my assistant?' _and they'd backed off pretty much straightaway).

When he reaches the debriefing room doors, they slide open smoothly for him and a smooth woman's voice says; "_Welcome, Tony Stark, as per usual, Director Fury is unable to say that he's very pleased to see you." _Tony's not really in the mood, thanks, and doesn't crack a smile.

"Someone took their time," Natasha remarks drily, but Tony can see a glimmer of humour in her dark eyes that suggests that _whoa, maybe she's not such an emotionless assassin after all. _Any other day, Tony would've called her up on it and made some sort of joke, but he's pissed with her too so he doesn't pay it much attention.

"The security guys wouldn't let me in," says Tony blandly, waving the gun in the air manically for good measure. "Who knew a genius wielding a gun was such a problem, eh?" He grins unnervingly, a gleam of anger flashing in his dark eyes.

For the first time everyone notices the anger which not only shows on his face but in his whole demeanor as well. They notice the gun in his hand and the eyes that scream 'bloody murder' with such a fiery passion that it makes even Coulson recoil. His stance is wary and guarded too, like he knows he's going to get in deep shit for whatever he's about to do if he isn't careful enough. But that doesn't matter much, not really, not when he's got enough access into S.H.I.E.L.D that he could erase the very existence of W.W.C and get away with it.

"Tony," Steve says warily, probably 'cause he thinks he can get Tony to calm down. Huh, tough luck _Spangles_, even Pepper couldn't shake him right now. Not now that he's so fired up he could shoot Fury point blank in the face without a single regret – not now that his trust has been tested to its limits and nothing, _nothing _will get it back.

Like a mirror; you can repair the broken shards, but no matter what you do, the cracks will always show.

"Tony," Bruce cuts in, with a determined look at Steve. Because if anyone knows a thing about Tony, it's Bruce – and Bruce knows that nothing _Captain Spangles _says will calm Tony down. Not when he's this damn mad. "Put the gun down, Tony. You can talk about this. Whatever's wrong, we're willing to hear it out."

Tony takes it back - Steve _is _smarter than Jolly Green. The billionaire narrows his eyes at the doctor and cocks his head to the side, a cruel smile dancing at the corners of his mouth. The gun is loaded by his side and it's a small comfort to know it's there. It's okay, because if shit gets bad, he'll shoot. He will. He's not being betrayed twice.

"Hear it out?" Tony's voice starts off calmly but it's trembling ever so slightly, so everyone can see the ice about to break through that oh-so-calm demeanor. "Hear it out?" He echoes, voice loud enough to be considered the beginning of a shout.

"Stark," Fury barks, sounding quite irritated, in Tony's opinion. He sounds kind of frustrated, like he can't believe Tony has the nerve to walk in and start shouting and waving a loaded gun around. Actually, the gun only has nine bullets. One for each. Not that Tony reckons he'll use them. "Would you just shut up and make sense for once in your life?"

Tony smirks in amusement, but it still has that hint of cruelty within the slight show of emotion. "That's slightly contradictory, cap'n." He points out mildly, resisting the urge to bring his hand up in a mock salute. "I can't make any sense if I'm quiet now, can I?"

Fury's seething now and for that, Tony's proud. He knows just how to make the director's buttons tick in a way that nobody else can. It's a quality life skill that Tony's prided himself on for years now. It's just disappointing that he only realized it so late after meeting Fury.

"Tony," Says Clint. "What's up?" Tony hadn't even noticed the archer before now. But he's there, hidden in the shadows and leaning casually against the cool white walls of the debriefing room. It's odd how Clint never seems to sit with anyone else around the table. But then, we're talking about the guy who sits on the top of the fridge to eat breakfast.

"I'll tell you what's up," Tony seethes, voice dangerously low and he ignores Hill's muttered; 'oh, goody.' "What's up is that S.H.I.E.L.D uses all of my weapons. The weapons I solely saved for the Avengers Initiative – nobody else – for fear of them falling into the wrong hands. You'd better listen because I'm only going to say this once. I know you all know about my weapons. The Avengers, sans _Tony Stark_ in big red letters, were in the need-to-know category. Hill was in the need-to-know category. Mister Ahoy-there-matey over here _obviously _knows, and I'm not sure about Coulson, but I didn't read it all that well, considering how much red I was seeing at the time.

"Do you know _why _I stopped making weapons? Because I saw thousands being killed by the tech _I _made. Because I knew how dangerous my tech was. Because I'd been shot by my own bomb. Because my closest and most trusted friend betrayed me _for my weapons_. Do you see the pattern? You'd damn well better see it because I ain't repeating for the stupid in here. And you, Agents and _Avengers, _you just joined the cycle I'd so hoped you'd stay out of." The billionaire pauses in his rant, breathing heavily whether it's because he's out of breath or because he's so _damn mad _he doesn't know. He doesn't care either, so, whatever.

Thor frowns. "S.H.I.E.L.D uses your weapons, yes." He booms with a slight nod. "I hardly understand why this should concern you. If they have seen fit to keep this from you, they have their reasons. They are your superiors. Listen to them."

"I'm not listening to them ever again." Tony said with a smirk, anger bubbling up inside his stomach like a bubbling pit of lava and molten rock. "I won't need to. I quit. You'll find that your weapons are currently a pile of ashes and that JARVIS has infiltrated your systems."

As if on cue, JARVIS speaks over the loudspeaker. His crisp British tones fill the room and startle everyone inside sans Tony. "_Good morning, Agent's Romanoff, Barton, Coulson and Hill, Director Fury, Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner and Mister Odinson. Sir has asked me to warn you of my infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D, Sir's immediate resignation from both an Avenger and his job as a consultant of S.H.I.E.L.D, the immediate destruction of Sir's weapons and the ominous notion that, and I quote, 'S.H.I.E.L.D will burn'."_

Just like that, JARVIS is silent and everyone in the room stared, gob smacked, at the resident billionaire who'd wiped the smirk off his face and was now standing silently by the door with his arms folded matter-of-factly across his chest and a scowl on his face. Despite his irritated stance, however, there is an air of satisfaction on his face that even a baby could have sensed from a mile away.

With one last long look around the room, gaze steely cold with a hidden air of frustration, Tony turns on his heel and marches out of the room, fingers twitching on the gun. Now that he's out, away from those who made his blood boil like water in a kettle, he looks at the weapon in his grasp and sighs slightly. He was never going to use it, no matter how annoyed he was. Intimidation purposes, you know? Nothing says angry like a crazy-billionaire-who-is-also-Iron-Man-and-a-genius wielding a gun.

And now, that sense of trust is gone.


	2. Taking Sides

**ANNNDDDD FINALLY I UPDATED. WHOA? WHATTTT? Anyway, please enjoy. If it's not exactly how you imagined it... well, sorry. **

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

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><p>Tony's not really sure what he's expecting to happen the next morning. He's gone in to work at the office for the first time in ages, and he's sorting through paperwork without Pepper asking (for once). Sure, there have been a few missed calls from Clint, about ten from Steve and more from Bruce. What was the most surprising of it all, was the <em>twenty-two <em>missed calls from Natashalie, and the eight messages of her telling him that he'd better call back before she shoved his foot up his arse.

Anyway.

The next thing he knows is Happy's being shoved through his office door with Natasha by his side. The look on her face is beyond furious, and she's got Coulson by her side. The agent in question (who Tony is still annoyed at for the pretense of his death) is looking smart as usual, the corner of a Captain America trading card poking out of his breast pocket.

"Get out, please." Tony snaps. "Happy, _why _are you my bodyguard again?"

Happy flushes right down to the collar of his white shirt. "Sorry, Boss." He mutters. "But I thought, since you're Iron Man and all…"

"Yeah." Tony shakes his head looking distracted. "Uh… where was I…?"

Coulson clears his throat loudly. He pulls the trading card out of his pocket and in two long strides, he has placed it flat on Tony's desk. "A peace offering." He says, holding his hands up.

Tony visibly gapes. "I don't like Captain America." He snorts, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"But I do. If you don't believe what I have to say, you can rip that card up into a thousand little pieces." Even Natasha looks shocked at Coulson's nerve. Who'd have thought that the man would give up his cards? They'd already been bloodied from Fury's interference, and now he was willing to have one of them _ripped to shreds?_

Tony leans back in his chair. Interest sparks in his dark eyes and he wrings his hands together as he eyes the two agents up and down. "Happy…" he begins slowly. "It's okay, I can handle this."

Happy leaves without a second thought, and Natasha is slightly relieved. She knows that the man wouldn't have hesitated to defend Stark without a second thought; and she's only pleased to have him removed from the scene. Coulson swallows slightly nervously, something that only Natasha picks up with all of her training and observational expertise.

"I'd ask you to sit down… but I can't be bothered, really." Tony snaps snidely. "Hurry up with it."

"Okay." Coulson rolls his eyes. "So, I had no idea about any of it."

Natasha snickers, then. "No." She agrees. "When you left, he almost punched Fury in the face. I, however, was perfectly aware. I'm sorry that I didn't do anything, but I knew. I'm here now to ask if you'd like help in getting rid of them all. Nobody knows SHIELD like Coulson and I, and we want to help you regain your dignity or whatever the hell it is you're trying to achieve." She raises her eyebrows in question, daring the genius to disagree.

Tony leans backward. "Fine." He snaps, surprising both of the agents at his quick compliance. "But we're doing this my way. If you step one toe out of line, I will assume you're with SHIELD and punch you into Asgard."

"Duly noted." Said Coulson, amused. "I believe we have a deal."

Tony picks up the trading card, and hands it back to Coulson.

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><p>When Tony gets up to the penthouse that evening, he's shocked by the sight of the team sitting at his dining table finishing off dinner. He's not sure what exactly made them think that they were all welcome back in, but obviously they didn't get the message. It is for this particular reason that he makes sure to let them all know immediately.<p>

"What the _fuck _are you doing?"

Steve looks up at him in confusion. "Um… Well, we were just."

Tony points to the elevator. "Get the _fuck _out." He practically spits, fury evident in his tone.

Thor frowns. "I do not understand." He says lowly. "I believed we were friends. Do friends not forgive one another for grievous wrongdoings?"

Tony raises an eyebrow challengingly, in a way that suggests he is mocking his team. "Not for this, big guy." He says stiffly, clapping Thor firmly on the shoulder. "Not for this."

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><p>The Avengers are packed and gone in the next hour; except for Natasha. She doesn't talk to Tony, because he isn't willing to talk to her unless she has something to say that he ought to know.<p>

She doesn't argue. Nor does Coulson, who rocks up the moment that the Avengers leave.

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><p>The Avengers are called upon to defend against Doom Bots one morning.<p>

Tony doesn't show up; because he doesn't care. JARVIS defends his tower with a spare suit, anyway, but he makes no move to assist the team.

Natasha leaves on the call to assemble, but comes back saying that nobody really had their best game on today.

"That's interesting," says Tony, not really caring. The cocky side of his mind is crowing. _So they might've cared a little, deep down inside. So without me, maybe the team is nothing. _

_Ha. _

_Serves them bloody right. _

"I think Hulk would like you back."

"Cool," says Tony. "Tell him that I want to go out with him some time."

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><p>Tony is actually dead serious.<p>

Rarely does the billionaire say something and not intend to actually follow through with it. So, the next morning, he and Pepper dress in something fancy and go downtown to meet Natasha after another second wave of Doom Bots. Hulk is out to play, and Tony thinks that he might rather like to spend time with the rage monster.

Pepper is more than willing to join him.

"Hello, Hulk." Says Pepper bravely, holding out a hand, which Hulk taps with a gigantic finger. "How are you?"

"Hulk smashed things."

"Ah." Tony nods gravely. "And Thor?"

"Hulk smashed him too." Hulk announces. "He still walking."

"That's good." Pepper admits, ignoring the incredulous looks from both Hulk and Tony. "I'd hate for Odin to blast you because you got his son killed."

"Puny god." Hulk snorts.

Natasha watches the conversation with a calculating stare, before slinking off into the background before anyone notices her.

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><p>"And?" Fury demands. "What is Stark doing?"<p>

"That's classified." Coulson announces. "This is intel from a classified mission between Agent Romanoff and myself."

"And, as Director of SHIELD, I need to know." Fury growls. "I need to know every important detail. I think knowing whether or not Stark plans on using the Hulk against us is important Intel."

"Not for you." Natasha closes the door behind her carefully as she strides with purpose into Fury's private debrief room. Her boots make no noise on the cool metal floor and she slings her leather jacket over one of the armchairs beside Coulson and immediately collapses into it. "That's a classified mission, with Intel that doesn't really concern anyone but Mister Stark."

"Oh, so he's _Mister Stark_, now?"

"I'm not on friendly enough terms right now to call him by his first name. Surely you knew that?"

Fury scowls. "I'm just lucky that he's letting two of my agents in."

Coulson shrugs. "Or not. Since we won't be telling you anything. He wants us to help get rid of his weapons. Natasha is doing so."

"And? Are you going to get rid of JARVIS as well?"

Natasha pauses for a long moment. "No."

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><p>Tony takes a lot of pride in the way he crafts each and every suit. Some people think that the design is just random; the colour of the day sort of the thing sort of thing. But it's not really. His next suit is painted a much angrier and more vibrant red than usual, which Pepper puts down to bitterness and fury against the Avengers and SHIELD.<p>

Personally, she approves of the new design; all red except for the occasional flash of silver and gold faceplate. She says it makes him look more badass, but Tony just says he thinks JARVIS is more into this design than the rest; so it'll be sticking around for a while.

Hammer is getting released from prison in two days' time, so Tony tries to pretend like all his anger is directed at that ridiculously short sentence. Although Pepper knows that it's not; she can't help but wonder what he's going to do to Hammer when he gets out. Tony says that he'll definitely pay the guy a visit; maybe blackmail him into doing a thing or two for Tony under his name so that if the fallback comes 'round; nobody could suspect the man behind the iron mask. Pepper, amazingly, is all for it.

"But, I do think you should look at it a little more tactically." Pepper says slowly. "I can tell him that I'll bring forth charges against him that he got away with last time, but he's not going to listen unless-"

"Yeah." Tony mutters. "JARVIS? You on it?"

"For you, Sir?" JARVIS says back cheekily. "Always. I do think that you should take a little more consideration in what Miss Potts suggests, however, Sir."

"Mmhm, J." Says Tony flippantly. "Course. You know me."

"Unfortunately, I do, Sir."

"So if I hack into SHIELD with HammerTech, nobody will ever know a thing."

"Aside from the fact that HammerTech is shit." Pepper says. "In which case, Fury will suspect you even if he can't prove it, anyway."

"Then he'll know I have it in for him and he'll _know _that he can't do anything about it." Tony says gleefully. "Even better. My God, I _am _a genius."

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><p>Coulson crouches low beside an immobile tank and scans the area with a calculating gaze. "There." He points at a large shipment of crates stamped with the SI logo. "So we have to blow that up?"<p>

"Yeah." Mutters Natasha. "Tony told me that the weapons shouldn't blow as long as we hit them with enough heat and force. Although, he probably hates me and wants me to die, so I wouldn't put much stock into what he's saying."

"No, he knows I'm innocent." Coulson says firmly. "And if he wanted you dead, he'd do it in a much_, much _fairer way_._"

"Thank God," Natasha says sarcastically.

Coulson hefts a large gun-like weapon into his arms. His jaw is set and he places his fingers firmly around the trigger. Natasha stares at him with raised eyebrows. She's not sure exactly what to say, but then Coulson's fingers tighten around the trigger and a large shockwave of energy blasts towards the shipment.

The aftermath sends Nat and Coulson ten feet backwards.

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><p>JARVIS is the one who tells him of the completion of Nat and Coulson's mission. There's a slight crackling in the sound, then his clear British voice filters through. <em>"It has been done, Sir. How should they proceed?" <em>

Tony contemplates it for a moment. He rubs his eyes tiredly and looks up from the holographic computer screens surrounding him. He's been pinpointing possible and known locations of his tech for the past twelve hours and his brain feels like it's about to explode and his eyes are drooping but he _has to stay awake_. He's been awake for the past few days, but he knows he could probably stay awake longer than this if he had to.

"Just tell them to get the _fuck _out of there, J." Advises Tony quickly with a barely stifled yawn.

"Of course, Sir."


End file.
